13 Cleaning Games for Kids

First off, isn't this drawing just darling? Head on over to Little House Studio and get your free printable! Click HERE.

I think I need to frame this because every night we clean up the house to prepare for the next day and we all dread it. The kids hate to clean and I hate getting them to clean. I'm no Mary Poppins but we try to make it more fun by playing games. We have tried playing "Beat the Timer" but my kids now know that it's not that fun to race against the clock anymore. So, we have gotten a little more creative. Here are a few of the games we have played:

Dump Truck: My kids "drive" around laundry baskets, making truck noises, and put things in their "trucks." When the baskets are full or there is nothing else to pick up, they go to their room and "dump" the baskets. They sort their items and drive them to where they belong. 

Santa: I will usually pick up toys and belongings throughout the day and throw them into one box. Then I will gather the kids and play "Santa." I sit a kid on my lap, talk a bit and ask if he/she has been a good boy/girl and then give him/her a "gift" (aka his/her toys/belongings) to put away. My kids think this game is funny. I really try to play up the Santa role (ask the kid's name, ask what he/she wants for Christmas, Ho Ho Ho, etc.)

Chutes and Hoops: This one is a favorite game but it takes a while. We have a Little Tikes slide and I set it on a low table with a toy basket at the bottom of the slide. The kids slide toys down the slide and it goes into the basket. Sometimes we put the basket under our Little Tikes basketball hoop and the kids "shoot" toys into the basket. If you have the time, try this game. If you don't have a slide, make a simple ramp out of a cardboard box or poster board.

"The Lady": This is another game that my kids think is funny. My daughter named this game "The Lady." She wants me to "be the lady!" I knock on their bedroom door and say, in my best British old lady accent, "Hello! I love your house! Can I come in? Oh, it's a wee bit messy in here. Can I help you? I've never been to your house before. Can you tell me where this goes?" I hand the item to my kids and they put it where it belongs. I ask again, "Can you tell me where this one goes?" and we repeat. This is also good to see if THEY know where it belongs. Does it have a place? If my kids don't know where it belongs, we either find a place or we throw it away. Sometimes I pretend that I don't even know what some of the items are. "What on earth is this thing? (Lego piece) It looks like a miniature ice cube tray. Perhaps for a Barbie doll or mouse. Good heavens! I hope you don't have mice living here." They think it's funny and I chill out for a second to have fun with my kids. 

Exercise and Clean: I challenge the kids to hop, skip, run, walk backwards, roll, etc. while they put things away. 

Numbers in a hat: Write numbers on pieces of paper (usually 1-10). Each kid draws a number and that number determines how many items they have to put away before drawing a new number.

Colors: I pick a color and everything that has that color must be put away first. Then we pick a new color.

Bigger or Smaller: Anything bigger than a _______ (toaster, laundry basket, etc) gets put away first. Anything smaller than a _________ (rabbit, shoe, etc) gets put away next. Choose any item your kids might think is funny and mix it up.

Guessing Game: I close my eyes and each kid puts away 1 or 2 items. I open my eyes and try to guess what they put away. You can make this a challenge with points if your kids are competitive. Or your kids can try to 'stump' you (or trick you) by putting away more items. It's harder for YOU to guess but gets THEM to clean more.

Relay Races: One child has a task and another child has a different task. See who can finish first. The tasks are usually similar like, put all the figurines in the figurine basket and put all the blocks in the block basket. 

Dance: Clean and dance to music. This is fun if you can switch the genres of music (ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, etc). 

100: First child to put away 100 things (on a really messy day) wins. 

Tickets: Reward your kids. For every 20 items, they earn 1 ticket (I get my tickets at Dollar Tree in the party section). When clean up is done, have a raffle or let them "buy" a treat from you. 

I hope this helps make cleaning a little more fun in your house for you AND your kids.